ONTARIO – A homeless advocate recently visited Tent City and came away impressed.

Val Jon Farris had been asked by Sacramento officials to investigate Tent City, a homeless encampment near L.A./Ontario International Airport.

Sacramento city officials have been looking to address a growing homeless camp along the American River.

On Thursday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said officials plan to close the encampment in the next few weeks and move residents to shelters, apartments and other accommodations.

More than 100 people are living near a seven-mile stretch of the river, garnering national attention, including being featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Farris said.

“It is a stark contrast to what’s in Ontario and what’s in Sacramento,” he said. “I was impressed with the order and the safety and care in Ontario.”

Farris reported his findings to Johnson and city officials.

Farris said he would talk to Sacramento officials about the partnership between Ontario and San Bernardino County as well as the care and safety they have demonstrated to the homeless.

“We feel they have established a high moral ground,” said Farris, a founder of the Northern California-based iCare America, a nonprofit that supports the needy.

The situation in Sacramento is described by Farris as chaos, but Farris said it doesn’t mean the city isn’t interested in addressing it.

“The problem is the more good work we do, the more homeless people come here,” Farris said.

A faith-based organization in the Inland Empire invited Farris to Ontario.

Farris said he received an understanding about how the city was able to control the situation

For a long time, the homeless in Ontario had congregated at the Amtrak station and in downtown alleys.

In July 2007, the city redirected them to a piece of land now known as the Homeless Services Area, but more commonly called Tent City.

The population then grew from 100 to almost 400.

Around that time, the city took control of the area. Fencing was installed and regulations were introduced, said Brent Schultz, director of housing and revitalization for Ontario.

The rules included requiring anyone who does not live at Tent City to receive a permit to be allowed on the premises.

The fence was built to ensure the safety of the residents of Tent City; in the past, gang members and drug dealers visited the site, Schultz said.

Schultz said he met with Farris for an hour Thursday and explained how Ontario officials organized Tent City. The visit by Farris was the first inquiry about Tent City from someone other than a resident.

“We’re just trying to do our best and to make this situation as good as it can be,” Schultz said.

Ontario is accepting applications for people who want to live in Tent City, but they must be able to prove their ties to the city, Schultz said.

But there has not been a rise in demand for new residents. When the city took over, there were 130 people, and there are now about 90 people, he said.

If accepted, a person is granted a 90-day permit. They are reissued the permit every 90 days if they comply with the rules in place.

The focus for Ontario now has been increasing continuum care and trying to get the homeless moved to more permanent housing, Schultz said.

“I wish them well. It sounds like there’s a lot of issues they’ve got to figure out over there,” he said.

Liset Márquez covers the cities of Pomona, Claremont, La Verne and San Dimas for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. A beat reporter for the Bulletin since 2006, she previously wrote for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She keeps a watchful eye on city councils and the Dodgers.